Found Friday: 48 Star Flag

There are some things in life you can't just get on eBay and order. You have to wait and know that when you find "it," it is going to be perfect and exactly what you were looking for. There is something more enchanting about it that way. Wouldn't you rather have a story to tell like, "You wouldn't believe it! I stopped at the tiniest hole in the wall on my way to Arizona and there it was!" Finding things in unexpected places- there are few things better. Though my story doesn't involve a quaint little town or a shopkeeper with tales of his youth, it is one of discovery. While at market last week browsing through a showroom selling found objects, I heard my friend Kelly yell over the skipping music, "flags!!!" I rushed over and immediately started unfolding the most beautiful flags I have ever seen- most of them I didn't even know what they were for but quite frankly I didn't care. Then I found this one- a 48 star wool American flag. It was moth eaten, brittle and nearly 7 feet tall with the ropes still attached. 48 star flags were in use from 1912-1959 but I think it is safe to say this one is at least of WWII era. After some hunting, I discovered that the company is no longer in
business but that wool flags really dropped off in production by 1950. You can faintly see the word "WOOL" printed above the company's tag-something I never would have noticed if I had not researched it.